Industrial Ethernet Initiative targets process automation.

Press Release Summary:



Initiative for process automation, launched by ODVA in cooperation with major suppliers to process industry – Cisco Systems, Endress+Hauser, Rockwell Automation, and Schneider Electric – aims to accelerate adoption of industrial Ethernet in process automation. ODVA's first action was to form standing committee to define strategic market requirements for new areas of technical work. It will publish white paper describing ODVA's vision for process automation and resulting technical approach.



Original Press Release:



Leading Industrial Suppliers and Odva Unite to Define Vision for Industrial Ethernet in Process Automation



ODVA members, including Cisco Systems, Endress+Hauser, Rockwell Automation and Schneider Electric, will collaborate to evolve EtherNet/IP for process automation



Ann Arbor, Mich., USA — ODVA has launched an “initiative for process automation” – in cooperation with major suppliers to the process industry, including Cisco Systems, Endress+Hauser, Rockwell Automation and Schneider Electric – to further accelerate adoption of industrial Ethernet in process automation. Based on ODVA’s industrial EtherNet/IP technology, the results of this initiative will provide end users with more choices to deploy a complete Ethernet solution for process automation starting with connectivity down to the field level. In the long term, this will expand to include the full spectrum of process automation needs, including safety, explosion protection, long distances and extensive diagnostic coverage.



Industrial Ethernet, and EtherNet/IP in particular, has been accepted and widely adopted in factory automation where the automation platform is primarily characterized by discrete control. The acceptance of EtherNet/IP in discrete applications has resulted in the convergence of automation platforms between discrete and hybrid applications. The result is that EtherNet/IP is also now well accepted and widely adopted in process automation, especially in control settings typically found in hybrid industries. The adoption of EtherNet/IP in these hybrid industries has demonstrated the value of industrial Ethernet for process automation and now constitutes a critical proof point for its future deployment in an even broader class of applications for process automation.



“In hybrid industries, EtherNet/IP provides a single architecture with easy access to process information,” said Dr. Raimund Sommer, managing director of Endress+Hauser Process Solutions and a member of ODVA’s board of directors. “Based on the successful user experiences with EtherNet/IP in hybrid industries, ODVA’s ‘initiative for process automation’is the next logical step. By fulfilling the spectrum of process industry requirements, ODVA will increase acceptance of EtherNet/IP at the field level.”



“Since EtherNet/IP is already successfully deployed in hybrid industries and some pure process industries, users are looking to ODVA for additional functionality to facilitate wider use of EtherNet/IP,” said Katherine Voss, executive director of ODVA. “ODVA has decided to respond with an‘initiative for process automation’focused on providing new opportunities for integration improvements, optimized network architecture and increased ROI.”



Through this initiative, ODVA will explore and adopt technology enhancements to ODVA’s EtherNet/IP and Common Industrial Protocol technologies to optimize these technologies for the needs of process automation. ODVA’s first action was to form a standing committee to define the strategic market requirements for new areas of technical work.This committee will be publishing a white paper describing ODVA’s vision for process automation and the resulting technical approach. ODVA will be providing more information on the initiative at its media briefing to be held on April 8, 2013 in conjunction with the Hannover Fair in Hannover, Germany. 



About ODVA

Founded in 1995, ODVA is a global association whose members are comprised of the world’s leading automation companies. ODVA’s mission is to advance open, interoperable information and communication technologies in industrial automation. ODVA recognizes its media independent network protocol, the Common Industrial Protocol or “CIP” – and the network adaptations of CIP – EtherNet/IP, DeviceNet, CompoNet and ControlNet – as its core technology and the primary common interest of its membership. ODVA’s vision is to contribute to the sustainability and prosperity of the global community by transforming the model for information and communication technology in the industrial ecosystem. For future interoperability of production systems and the integration of the production systems with other systems, ODVA embraces the adoption of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and standard, unmodified Internet and Ethernet technologies as a guiding principle wherever possible. This principle is exemplified by EtherNet/IP– the world’s number one industrial Ethernet network.



For more information, contact:

Adrienne Meyer

ODVA

+1 734.975.8840

ameyer@odva.org



CIP, EtherNet/IP, DeviceNet, CompoNet and ControlNet are trademarks of ODVA.

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